Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I Survived the Shawl

Grrrrrr. Oh sure...in this picture, it's laying here all innocent and soft, but don't be deceived. It's a vicious little thing. Fuzz, billions of yarnovers, dropped stitches, more fuzz, multiple charts, boring stockinette with teeny tiny FUZZY yarn--it's just plain mean. See the points? Think of them as fangs with my blood dripping from them.

I only finished this shawl because it taunted me. It lay in wait for me on my recliner every night, quietly plotting how it was going to break me. And it almost succeeded! I almost gave up at least once a night.

But I survived.

And...I kind of like it! I may make another one. (Slow learner.)

Next time, I would definitely use a different yarn. This is Malabrigo Lace in "Carrot." I love the color, but oh oh oh the fuzz! The Malabrigo would be good for someone making this shawl for the second time--when one already knows what one is doing--because mistakes are impossible to fix. The more you linger over a mistake, the more fuzz is produced--kind of like trying to pet a rabid dog.

But it sure is soft on my neck! And practically weightless. Just a little whisper of a thing, really. It's lovely to wear.

Here is the lace edge. The edges did not turn out like I thought. I think I may have bound off too tightly (I think I was trying to strangle the thing....). In addition, I don't think this yarn blocks very well. I pinned out the points, but they're just not as pointy as they should be.

See? No points at all. Smooth edges. Not enough drama for an evil shawl, I think.

This is what the edges are supposed to look like:

This is sammysmith's Ishbel. I hope she doesn't mind me using this picture; I cut and pasted it from Ravelry. Her points are lovely and stayed pointy after blocking. I can see that her bind-off was looser than mine, too.

Here is the front of my shawl:

I need a shawl pin or something. I don't think I'd ever wear it this way, though. It feels too good up against my neck. I think I'll probably wear it more like this:

Perhaps I'll try to reblock it the next time I wash it to see if I can coax some points out of the infernal thing. I just worry about more fuzz when I wash it. I do love the color though! It's exactly the color of fresh carrot juice.

In other news, my new lavender quilt won a prestigious award! It's been designated by Mr. Bigglesworth as the most desirable sleeping spot of the week.

Well done! It looks terrific. I'm using malabrigo for a scarf and it's very soft but I understand about the fuzzy, although mine isn't too bad. Except when I un-knit, then it's worse. And I'm doing some of that, especially when I stop paying attention and get out of pattern. I doubt I will ever try something as complicated as your scarf, but it's something to aspire to.

Mr. Bigglesworth is a very very smart kitty! The quilt looks so very inviting!The shawl is lovely. Next time you try knitting with "fuzzy" yarn, a trick I learned ages ago was to keep the yarn in the freezer. It helps cut down on the fuzziness when knitting.

That colour is very "you" ... suits you a treat!! I love the way your shawl turned out, especially in the last pic, I'm incredibly envious of anyone who can knit ;o).Mr B clearly has excellent taste, the quilt is gorgeous - and it looks very comfy.Hugs,Joy :o)

Oh, that shawl is so pretty. And the color certainly complements your skin tones....good job, Lisa! I'd wear it around my neck, too. I personally don't want a triangular shawl that points directly to my rather large posterior...would rather make a rectangular shawl.

Love the carrot juice fuzzy evil neck wrap. I think you are slightly crazy to do it again, but maybe you are low on frustration and need to elevate your levels. I would totally take a nap on that quilt too if i were a cat, or if i were me, really. Soothing and quilty.Hey I will be in Kauai next week. I will be looking for chickens!

I'm working on my first "real lace" project - and it's in Malabrigo lace. I'm thinking of changing yarns because of the fuzziness. I think it would be better for the first project to be with something else. I have to say-I LOVE the way this yarn looks knit. It looks so soft. I like your shawl a lot!